Architect DesignInc

Share This

Related Articles

Innova 21, the University of Adelaides new building for the Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Science, has been awarded a 6 Star Green Star Education (V1) rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.

The project is the first in Australia to achieve a 6 Star rating under the Green Star Education v1.0 tool.

The eight storey, 14,000sqm building designed by DesignInc incorporates active slab technology  a system of hydronic cooling loops located within the concrete floor slabs  combined with an under-floor air distribution system, which uses 100 percent fresh air ventilation. A trigeneration plant on the roof level provides ongoing cost savings, providing electricity and reusing waste energy to provide heating and cooling throughout the building.

The building also features rainwater harvesting, with 500,000 litre underground storage tanks serving toilet flushing and irrigation within the building, while the exterior features a low E double-glazed curtain wall.

A building management system (BMS) monitors the buildings energy consumption, with all data available to students so that the building itself becomes a teaching tool for environmentally sustainable design.

Innova 21 is currently being built near the university library. The facility will provide a new entrance zone with lift, stair core and multi-level connections to neighbouring buildings, integrating the modern building within the heritage aspects of the University of Adelaide campus.

The new facility includes an exhibition space in an enclosed atrium to the south of the building, between the new faculty and the existing Engineering North building. The space will be covered with an ETFE inflated roof membrane. Inside, the building caters for contemporary staff accommodation and computer aided teaching facilities.